Front Range Floods

Officials are pushing to rebuild the Front Range after devastating floods That includes a direct line to the Roaring Fork Valley… a railroad line, that is. Tracks west of Denver were washed out-- and that means changes for Amtrak service to Glenwood Springs. Aspen Public Radio’s Elise Thatcher has more.

Reporter: Jeff Hershenson, who lives in Snowmass Village, is at the Glenwood Springs Amtrak station on a recent gorgeous fall day. He says the competitive fare prompted him to buy a ticket to Denver.

Heavy flooding on the Front Range has resulted in a mess. Oil and animal excrement from feedlots have spilled into or near rivers. The flooding put dams on the Front Range to the test as walls of water rushed down canyons and into towns. We’ll talk to the chief of dam safety for the state. The Roaring Fork Valley deals with suicide often more than other Colorado communities. One local non profit is trying to change that. Federal health care reform kicks into high gear next week when people can shop online for insurance. But, even with insurance, some patients struggle to get care. And, every month a Ute Indian spiritual leader leads a sweat in a cavern in Glenwood Springs. We’ll take you to the healing ceremony. And finally, we’ll introduce you to a local winter Olympic hopeful who learned to ride horses before she got on skis.

The flood waters are now moving east into Kansas and Nebraska. Better weather is allowing hard hit mountain communities like Boulder to dry out. This was a singular massive rain event. How it happened seems pretty clear. How and what it means long term, less so. Brent Gardner-Smith and Bob Ward of Aspen Journalism join us this week to talk about all the water, Colorado’s on going drought and climate change.

Also, this fall, voters will decide the fate of a new funding model for public schools – Mick Ireland shares his take.

And on The Download – how hackers might be able to steal your fingerprints.

Floodwaters in the Front Range are receding and the number of missing people is going down. Residents of flood-ravaged towns are returning home. We’ll bring you an update on the floods and let you know how you can help. Some from the Roaring Fork Valley have been helping Front Range residents get back on their feet and seeing just how devastating flooding can be. The state’s climatologist says what’s strange about last week’s weather is its pattern. Simultaneous, powerful rain storms hit multiple Front Range areas at one time. Also today, men are still making more money than women in Colorado – we’ll break down the numbers, county by county. And finally, imagine flying 80 miles an hour down Aspen Mountain on skis. One Aspen ski racer could be an international champion, if she can land a spot with the Olympic team.

In an effort to deliver up-to-the-minute information resources on how the recovery effort is progressing along the Front Range, how to help and how to find people affected by the flooding, we have created a list of live update links for you.

Aspen Public Radio will be updating this list of links as more resources come on-line. If you find something that we have missed, feel free to list it in the comments section below and we'll add it to the list.

Welcome to Valley Roundup for September 13. 2013, a review of the week’s top news stories in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond.

The water keeps coming along the front range in what some are calling floods of biblical proportions. Three are known dead and thousands are evacuated from Ft Collins to Colorado Springs. We gather up the latest from the flood affected areas.

In the valley this week it was the bus system that led the news as the new rapid transit system is almost two weeks old. There has been some grumbling.

Two Democratic state Senators were thrown out in recall elections this week. It could spell trouble for the party in next year’s legislative races.